Current 2007 Findings Have Arrived!

PHASE 1 — Girls Circle National Research Project
In school year 2006-2007, fifteen collaborating organizations partnered with Ceres Policy Research to study the short and long term outcomes for girls in Girls Circle groups (Irvine, Roa, Cervantez, 2007).  278 girls of diverse ethnicities in nineteen cities across the United States completed pre and post surveys, utilizing the Girls Circle Survey.  Settings included schools, community sites, juvenile justice and residential settings, and served girls ages 10 – 18 years of age.

Girls Circle participants’s surveys revealed statistically significant improvement for girls in four long-term outcomes:

• A decrease in self-harming behavior.
• A decrease in rates of alcohol use¹.
• An increase in attachment to school.
• An increase in self-efficacy.

Additionally, girls’ surveys revealed significant increases in six skills developed over the short-term:

• Finding things they have in common with a new person.
• Trying to see beyond girls' reputations.
• Telling adults what they need.
• Feeling good about their body.
• Picking friends that treat them the way they want to be treated.
• Telling people how much they mean to them.

In addition, results indicated significant gains in self-efficacy.

The study found that Girls Circle groups benefit girls nearly equally across the subgroups of populations represented, including girls with no history of school problems, girls in juvenile justice programs, foster youth, and LGBT youth. Overall, Girls Circle participants were very satisfied with their groups and their facilitators.

For More Information about this study, read the Final Report in PDF format (8/21/07).

PHASE TWO — Girls Circle National Research Project 2007-2008
In Phase Two of the Girls Circle evaluation project, Ceres Policy Research (CPR) will conduct qualitative interviews and/or focus groups with girls who are participating in Circles to better understand the experiences of girls in juvenile justice settings.  They will also expand quantitative analysis of outcomes for girls in juvenile justice and school settings.  By collecting administrative data from collaborating sites on recidivism, suspension, expulsion, and other disciplinary processes, CPR will explore the relationship between Girls Circle participation and girls’ paths within disciplining institutions. Anticipated analysis of findings: Spring, 2008.

 ¹ There were two separate alcohol use questions that showed a decrease in use.

Girls Circle Evaluation Tool Kit,
with a gender-relevant measurement tool designed specifically for use with Girls Circle programs.

 $65.00

The survey integrates the validated Schwarzer’s Self-Efficacy instrument and is for use with any combination of the Girls Circle Activity Guides. Full instructions for program evaluation, options for collaboration with the Girls Circle Association, Consent Forms, Information Sheet, and Girls Circle Survey included. Spanish Language Survey and forms also included. Reproducible within purchasing organizations. A Younger Girls Survey which has no reference to drugs, alcohol, or sex has also been developed.

The Girls Circle Survey Measures:
	Developing positive relationships with peers/adults			Making healthy choices regarding nutrition, self-care, and activities
	Self-Efficacy			Avoiding drugs and alcohol
	Communication skills			Avoiding sex or practicing safe sex
	Showing empathy			Creating a positive female identity
	Respect for self and others			Setting educational goals
	Exploring options, making decisions			Seeking adult help to reach goals

Is Girls Circle an evidenced-based program?
We are a “promising program,” committed to research to show scientific evidence of the effectiveness of Girls Circle programs.

Our goal is to become an evidenced-based, gender-specific, best practice program for adolescent girls. Simultaneously, our research design is female-responsive. We are eager to compare data in programs that do and do not utilize Girls Circles, while not denying Girls Circle services for girls where they are accessible.

Research-Based,
Highly Valued Program
Girls Circle is recognized as a “promising approach” in the Model Programs Guide of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Outcomes showed significant increases in self-efficacy, body image, and social connection.
(Promising programs display a strong theoretical base and have been demonstrated to prevent delinquency, and /or reduce/enhance risk/protective factors for delinquency using limited research and requires further experimental study.)

PREVIOUS OUTCOME STUDIES

Three quantitative studies (2004, 2005) evaluated the effectiveness of the Girls Circle as a prevention and intervention model to improve perceived social support, perceived body image, and self-efficacy, one of which analyzed the impact of the Girls Circle program for girls involved in the juvenile justice system, including girls on probation and in detention settings.

In total, 152 girls in twenty-four groups across the United States, comprising of 4 – 15 girls per group, ages 10 -18 years of age, met weekly for ten weeks using Girls Circle curricula. These groups were held in schools, community programs, juvenile detention and probation settings. Girls were of a variety of racial-ethnic backgrounds, from urban, suburban and rural areas. They completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Body Parts Satisfaction Scale, and Schwarzer’s General Self-Efficacy Scale.

Download in PDF format:

• Final Report (2007)
• Girls Circle Final Report, Girls in the Juvenile Justice System 2005 Study
• Girls Circle Full Report (2005)
• Girls Circle Executive Summary (2004)
  

OUTCOMES

Initial results revealed significant increases in perceived social support, perceived body image, and self-efficacy (Adolescence, 2006). The 2005 study which combined juvenile justice, school and prevention settings, found that girls in the juvenile justice settings are more likely to show an increase in perceived social connection (Irvine, A., 2005).

Self-Efficacy - Beliefs in one’s abilities affect important areas of adolescent development such as student identity and peer relationships.

Body Image - Perception of one’s physical appearance has been consistently recognized to be the number one factor in predicting self-esteem. Negative body image can lead to eating disorders, depression, anxiety, sexual difficulties, poor self-esteem, and increased suicide risk.

Perceived Social Support - Social support is defined as the experience or the perception of being cared for, valued, included, and/or guided by others, especially of one’s family, peers, and/or community members. Social support from peers, teachers, and parents has been recognized as a protective factor for children and teens.

Sources -

• Hossfeld, B., (2006). Developing Friendships and Peer Relationships: Building Social Support with the Girls Circle Program. In C. LeCroy, & J. Mann, (Eds.), Handbook of Prevention and Intervention Programs for Adolescent Girls, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons. (VIEW IN PDF)
  
• Irvine, A., (2005), Girls Circle: Summary of Outcomes for Girls in the Juvenile Justice System (VIEW IN PDF)
  
• Irvine, A., Roa, J., & Cervantez, K., (2007) Girls Circle National Research Project. (VIEW IN PDF)
  
• Rough, J., & Matthews, G. (2005). Understanding the Intervention of Girls Circle on Friendship Quality and Self-Efficacy: A Replication and extension. Unpublished manuscript, Dominican University of California, San Rafael (VIEW IN PDF)
  
• Steese, S., Dollette, M., Phillips, W. Hossfeld, B., & Taormina, G. (2005). Understanding Girls’ Circle as an Intervention on Perceived Social Support, Body Image, Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control and Self-Esteem. Adolescence, Vol. 41, No. 161, Spring, 2006. (VIEW IN PDF)